¿WHAT DO WE DO?

On a national scale, LIMPAL Colombia uses its voice, actions and efforts to work towards peace and gender justice through four main lines of action:

Political Advocacy

Political advocacy is one of LIMPAL’s strategies to advance the agenda of women affected by the internal armed conflict. A participatory and group-based approach to political advocacy is key so LIMPAL emphasizes the empowerment of women, their communities, their social movements. Active participation is essential to building a peaceful, democratic world.

The struggle to defend and promote women’s human rights is unending, especially within the context of the internal armed conflict in Colombia. Therefore, LIMPAL Colombia finds the local community leadership of our liderezas to be even more important. From their personal experiences and participation, they can begin to transform their communities over time.

For LIMPAL, political advocacy takes places on multiple scales: local, national and international. The emphasis is on realizing civil and political rights and on enforcing the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820, as well as local Colombian laws that are designed to protect the rights of women.

The work of the women leaders of LIMPAL is realized when they can speak freely and be heard and as a result receive adequate responses and support from social and state institutions.

Gender Justice

This line of action focuses primarily on demanding the enforceability of women’s rights and on combating all forms of discrimination against women. Gender impacts all forms of social life, creating divisions in interests and understandings of social justice.

LIMPAL Colombia emphasizes capacity-building and raises awareness about human rights within specific social, political, cultural and legislative contexts. We provide information and political advocacy on the various resolutions, conventions, and declarations that have been made on human rights and women’s rights.

We work to end inequality between women and men in the distribution of resources and social, economic and political opportunities.

Gender justice involves women and men seeking equality from those who exercise power (as much at home as in the neighborhood, other public spaces and the government) in such a way that any action that limits equal access to resources should be prevented or punished.

Economic Justice

Women who are forcedly displaced by armed conflict and women from urban slums are the most affected by the impact of poverty and temporary or informal underemployment and unemployment. These women are then obliged to enter into cycles of economic exploitation and obtain precarious jobs, unaware of their labor rights and obliged to pay the costs and assume the risks of new models of production with their work, dignity and even lives.

Traditional modes of production and consumption promote insecurity and vulnerability for many working women in our country. LIMPAL supports alternative economic initiatives as a strategy to work towards economic justice. These alternative sources of income can help women improve their quality of life and gain economic independence.

We support economic projects that benefit communities by offering decent work conditions and acknowledging women as active participants in their own economic development. We provide trainings on defending human rights and the interests of women laborers. At the same time, we realize that many women must care for their families in addition to generating income. As such, our trainings are sensitive to concerns of work-family balance.

Institutional Development

This line of action is focused on strengthening the internal processes of LIMPAL and other associated women’s organizations. We work to empower women community leaders as well as the professionals that work alongside them to fight for human rights. LIMPAL forms part of a much larger social movement and we provide a unique and important form of leadership and knowledge, particularly for communities affected by the internal armed conflict. Our institutional development includes strategic planning, sharing experiences with other like-minded groups and individuals, and monitoring and evaluating projects. We foment community participation, as well as internal and external communication.

Everything we do works towards the protection of the rights of women who have lived and suffered through violence and war.

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